2nd analysis

13 GHOSTS

directed by Steve Beck

2001

Watching the opening of “13 Ghosts“ you realise that it is a horror film with an action element. The conventions are the deserted junk yard at night and the title which is blended on the dark images in a fire-coloured, slightly moving scripture. The contrast makes it appear more powerful. It looks like it is glowing and something is in there since there are beams of light coming out of the letters connoting evil and danger. This is supported by non-diegetic sounds like strange screams and camera movement such as steadicam tracking back instead of tracking in shapes the film to be a horror. Reading the title in this mysterious scripture the audience creates an image of ghosts as evil creatures, as they might have seen in different films.

In the first part of the opening Beck lets us get familiar with the stock location to feel the atmosphere. Cars are piled up very high, plastic bands are rustling in the wind and between all the junk there are ways where the camera moves connoting narrowness and mystery. The ground looks wet and not as if someone has been there lately giving the effect of loneliness. So the audience work out that this is an evil place to be or that something evil lives in it. Through non-verbal language we learn about the nature of our characters. Cyrus’ movements seem to be controlled and connote power and self consciousness. He doesn’t wince when one of the cars of the junk yard falls down right in front of him whereas Dennis screams and backs off. Through this one scene we learn that Cyrus is very calm and can judge situations. When he talks to Dennis after their arrival Dennis sits leaned to the car and Cyrus stands next to him connoting the power who has the power. The other men running around setting the material look very cautious as they watch out for something. They work and move very quickly connoting that they don’t have much time. Another example for the calmness of Cyrus is that his car drives into the scene very slowly compared with the impressive appearance of the rest of the crew in the big trucks. His face looks confident. But you get to know his other side when he kicks Dennis’ medication away. This connotes a lot. Not only that he doesn’t tolerate unconcentrated action but also that if necessary he doesn’t wait for others to help him and demonstrates not only psychological power. Cyrus’ costume, a large black and red coat, and his classic car make him look like a baron. The men wearing black suits with a plastic cover are identified by the audience as a special unit. The stereotypical image of the person wearing classes as being weaker than others is put on Dennis who is represented as an assistant.

The light is set very carefully used since in the darkness every lit part becomes even more powerful. The natural light of the location comes from the moon connoting that it is night. This is another convention for the horror genre and makes the whole scene look eerier. When Cyrus arrives his face is half lit, the other side left in shadow conveying that he is a man with two sides. Whereas Cyrus’ face is especially exposed the faces of the other men aren’t but their plastic jackets are. In this way we realise among other things that he is the main character whereas the light focus on the other men’s clothes connotes that these people work for him. When the cars arrive there’s fire on each side of the way which creates a frame on our screen to focus on them but at the same time make them look more dangerous.

There’s diegetic sound used e.g. the waving plastics bands rustling in the wind as well as a lot of non-diegetic sound e.g. we feel like some one is rushing past the camera even though we don’t see anyone. Right at the beginning there is a thunder used as a sound bridge from the “Dark Castle Entertainment” symbol to the first image which connects the two images audibly and adds to the horror feeling. Sometimes diegetic sound is exaggerated to enhance the dramatic effects. Beck uses this for example when the first truck breaks through the gate in the fence by letting the sound last longer than it would have done in reality and making it louder. The music comes from an orchestra and is dramatic and fast-paced displaying the speed of the images seen. We realise that the men are working very fast. To increase tension, for instance when something significant is just about to happen, the music gets louder.

There are many CUs of the main character’s faces in the opening which concentrate on their reactions and feelings, like in the conversation between Dennis and Cyrus. To make the junk yard look more bizarre swaying camera is used in canted angles for the first images. Another unusual element adding to the sense of obscurity is that we have a steadicam tracking out very fast instead of tracking in which gives the strange effect of walking reversed. To get a view over the location we see a panning over the junk yard as an ELS. When the special unit arrives the men’s lower legs are framed and we see them running. Their equipment is shown in CUs e.g. the control desk and the “cube” so we work out that they are trying to trap something or some one. Knowing the title and hearing the dialogue between Cyrus and the two captured activists the audience can work out that Cyrus captures ghosts but we don’t know the reason. When he is in a dialogue with Dennis walking through the junk yard the camera distance changes frequently from MCUs to ELS to be with the characters but at the same time see what is going on in the environment around.

Supported by camera angles, sound and verbal/ non-verbal language Beck presents us Cyrus as a powerful man who enjoys the action by climbing on top of the junk to have a good view about what’s happening. Hearing his voice giving commands you realise that he enjoys his work and being in that mighty position. Also we see that he is ruthless as he doesn’t care about other peoples opinions which disturb his work. Another negative feature of him is that he has concealed to Dennis that there is a 13^th ghost to capture, and Dennis thought the 12^th ghost was the last one.

The narrative is structured in the order that everything happens; there are no flash-backs or flash-forwards. In some parts the director uses jump cuts, however, they don’t bridge too much time. The narrative style is objective, sometimes we have shots that are similar to POV of some one lurking through the junk but most of the time the story is objective, like an unconcerned narrator in a book who just tells the story. We get dragged into the story by being shown the creepy junk yard and the feeling of some one being there in spite of the silence. This hooks us so we wonder what happens next. Tension is kept by putting action in the following scenes which shows the capture of a ghost. When we see Cyrus the first time we do not know if we should like him or not but slowly getting to know him better we alienate from him maybe because of the slightly mad expression on his face and his will to show his power. When the two activists criticise his work we wonder if what he does is ethnically right and we sympathise with them.

Ideological discourse such as male dominance is reinforced by showing men in almost all significant positions, like Cyrus in the role of the powerful ghost hunter, but no women. One of the two activists is a woman and later she cries for help like she doesn’t know what to do when the other male activist is injured.

In my opinion the target audience are men from the age of 15 because that’s the age level. Men are more likely to watch horror and action movies than women and this it what “13 Ghosts” is about. The preferred reading is that if you keep together as a family in troubled times you will surmount difficulties, even if it is a hard way. Ghosts are presented as cruel creatures that used to be human but are now dead.